Polestar 3 2024 review

Polestar doesn’t want to be a Tesla rival anymore. In that sense, the Model 3-fighting Polestar 2 was an aberration. Having moved out, in its own words, of parent brand Volvo’s household, the Swedish performance offshoot will now be targeting…Porsche.

That’s quite the aspirational leap. When the sole Polestar model on Australian roads – the lift-backed sedan ‘2’ – kicks off at just $63,404 before on-road costs (until June 30), the considerable jump up to the $132,720 ‘3’ on test indicates a high degree of confidence.

Adjacently, another model – the Polestar 4 that splits the ‘2’ and ‘3’ on size – will join the lineup soon. The ‘4’ also splits the difference on price, with a fairly sparsely-equipped base model designed to attract Australia’s federal EV incentives priced from below $90,000 driveaway.

Product planners for the flagship ‘3’ large SUV weren’t chasing incentives, and there is no concession to affording buyers a stripped-out variant to save costs. The ‘3’ is big, powerful, and expensive, although a slightly cheaper single-motor RWD version is coming later.

Rivals for this 4.9m-long but refreshingly low-roofed crossover are, Polestar senior executives tell us, the Porsche Cayenne (petrol for now, EV expected late in the decade) and EVs like the BMW iX, Audi Q8 E-tron, and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

Until last decade Polestar was nestled within the Volvo brand as a sort of AMG or M department, but Volvo itself never really priced its cars to seriously take on such big names.

So, is the Polestar 3 good enough to support luxury dreams? Is it a Porsche, M and Audi Sport fighter?

In a word: yes. But our nodding will be reserved until we can test the big bus on Australian roads, where our chopped-up blacktop surfacing really cleaves good cars from great ones.

The rival set presents a mixed challenge. Porsche’s recently updated Cayenne is an easy nod – even if full electrification isn’t available. The BMW iX looks odd but it’s great to sit in and drive. The Audi Q8 E-tron is handsome. Mercedes? Well, the EQE SUV is forgettable and not very attractive.

Polestar basically comes down the middle of the set. Like the Audi Q8, the ‘3’ is a conventionally